Door check and hold-open



Sept. 4, 1962 w. DALE DOOR CHECK AND HOLD-OPEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 8. 1960 INVENTORv ale/fer fizz/e Sept. 4, 1962 w. DALE 3,051,983

DOOR CHECK AND HOLD-OPEN Filed June 8. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i y; in 6% If i f .51 .90

ii /V mg .30

IN VENTOR.

United States Patent 01 ice 3,051,983 DOOR CHECK AND HOLD-OPEN Walter Dale, Roseville, Mich, assiguor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed June 8, I960, Ser. No. 34,813 7 Claims. (Cl. 1682) This invention relates to a door check and hold-open, and more particularly to a door check and hold-open for a loading door of a vehicle.

One feature of the invention is that it provides an improved door check and hold-open.

Another feature of the invention is that it provides an improved door check and hold-open particularly adapted for use with a loading door of a truck or other vehicle.

A further feature of the invention is that it provides a door check and hold-open device which will check opening movement of the door in a partially open position and yieldably hold the door in this position, the

hold-open device being manually movable out of the door to permit the door to be swung to a fully open position, substantially 180 from its closed position.

Still another feature of the invention is that it provides guide means whereby the check device automatically reenters the door when the door is closed.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a truck body having a loading door and including the novel door check and hold-open apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged longitudinal horizontal section through a portion of the truck body and door showing the door check and hold-open apparatus in the position it assumes when the door is closed;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and showing the mounting means for the door check;

FIGURE 4 is a section similar to FIGURE 2 but show ing the parts in the position they assume when the door is in partially open position;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged section taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 4 showing the hold-open structure;

FIGURE 6 is a section similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the parts in the position they assume when the check link has been moved to a location to permit the door to be swung from the partially open position illustrated to its fully open position; and

FIGURE 7 is a section similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the parts as they are located when the door is in fully open position.

Vehicle doors are commonly provided with door check and hold-open devices which check opening movement of the door at a predetermined position and which may include yieldable hold-open means to insure that the door does not swing shut under its own weight. While such devices are satisfactory for use in passenger vehicle doors, it is often desirable to provide an arrangement in loading doors of trucks or other vehicles whereby the door may be swung to a partially open position, preferably substantially 9() from its closed position, for normal loading operations but to permit the door to swing to a 'fully open position, substantially 180 from its closed position under certain circumstances. For example, if a large article is to be loaded into the vehicle through the door opening it may be necessary to swing the door completely away from the opening to obtain the largest possible opening size. In other circumstances, the vehicle may be parked adjacent a wall or other obstruction so that the door cannot be opened far enough to permit loading and it is desirable to swing the door substantially 3,@5l,983 Patented Sept. 4, 1962 180 from its closed position before the vehicle is brought into proximity to the wall or other obstruction.

This invention provides a novel door check and holdopen device which will check movement of the door and yieldably hold the door in a partially open position substantially from its closed position. If it is desired to swing the door to a fully open position substantially from its closed position the hold-open device may be manually moved to a location such that it will clear the door and permit the door to be swung fully open. Guide means on the door insure automatic re-engagement of the door with the hold-open device when the door is swung shut.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, in FIGURE 1 an automobile truck is fragmentarily shown including a body 10* having loading doors 12 hingedly mounted thereon by means of a pair of swing-out type hinges 16 and 18. The lower hinge 18 is illustrated in FIGURES 2, 4, 6 and 7 as comprising a first hinge arm 20 which may be secured to the body It) by bolts or other conventional means and a second hinge arm 22 which may be secured to the door 12 in conventional manner. The arms 20, 22 are pivotally connected together by a hinge pintle 24 so that the door 12 may be swung from the closed position illustrated in FIGURE 2 to a partially open position, substantially 90 from the closed position as illustrated in FIGURE 4, and to a fully open position, substantially 180 from the closed position as illustrated in FIGURE 7.

The door is formed from an outer panel 26 and an inner panel 28 spaced inwardly from the outer panel to provide a hollow interior. At its jamb face the door is formed with a recessed opening 30 for the reception of the check and hold-open device later to be described. Outwardly of the opening 39 the jamb face of the door is defined by a sloping Wall 32 which defines a portion of the recess mentioned above and which slopes toward the hollow interior of the door. A reinforcing bracket 34 is secured by bolts, one of which is illustrated at 36, to the sloping wall 32 in order to strengthen the wall and make it suitable for use as a door check.

The body 10 is formed from an outer panel 40 and a spaced inner panel 42 which, at the jamb face of the door opening, is bent outwardly to extend toward the outer panel as shown at 44, the jamb portion 44 of the inner panel 42 being secured by welding or other means at 46 to an inwardly directed flange portion of the outer panel 40. The door check and hold-open member, which is designated as 50, is pivotally mounted at one end on the jarnb wall 44 of the body 10. A mounting bracket designated generally as 52 has a base portion 54 and oppositely disposed side wall 56 and 57 for pivotally supporting the check device 50. The base of the mounting bracket 52 is secured to the jamb Wall 44 of the body by means of a plurality of bolts 58, a reinforcing 'plate 60 seating between the base 54 of the mounting bracket and the jamb wall 44 of the body. A pin 62 is journaled between the upstanding walls 56, 57 of the mounting bracket 52 and provides a pivotal mounting for the check device which, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 5, is channel-shaped in transverse section, having opposite side walls 64 and 66 joined by a web 68. A spring 70 is coiled around the mounting pin 62 and has one end 700 inserted through an opening in the reinforcing plate 60 and jamb wall 44 of the body and the other end 70b inserted through an opening in the web 68 of the check device so that it biases the check device outwardly of the truck body, which is in a counterclockwise direction as the parts appear in FIGURES 2, 4, 6 and 7. A rubber grommet designated generally as 72 is secured by a metal plate or washer 74 on the body jamb Wall 44 so that the grommet surrounds the mounting bracket 52. An upstanding wall 72a projecting from the base of the grommet along the inner portion thereof provides a bump stop and seal for the door as illustrated in FIGURE 2, and this wall tapers down to a lower height along its outer portion as shown at 72b to provide a limit stop for the check device as illustrated best in FIGURES 4 and 7.

The channel-shaped body portion of the check device comprises an elongated link which, at its free end, is formed with a laterally extending projection or book 76. The hook 76 is formed from angularly extending end projections of the opposite side walls 64 and 66 of the check device. At the end of the hook a rubber roller 77 is mounted between said end projections. On each opposite wall of the check link 50 there is a hold-open member, each of which comprises a spring member riveted to one of the opposite sides of the check link and each having a detent portion adapted to be cammed over -a wall of the opening to provide a yieldable hold-open. Referring to FIGURE 5, the side wall 64 of the check link mounts a hold-open spring 78 by means of a rivet 80 which secures a mounting leg 81 of the hold-open spring to the inner surface of the wall 64. The wall 64 is formed with an opening 82 through which a detent portion 84 of the hold-open spring projects, the detent portion being bent back inside the channelshaped check link '50 and terminating in an abutment leg 86 which normally seats against the inner surface of the wall 64 of the check link as illustrated in FIGURE 5.

The opposite wall 66 of the check link similarly mounts a hold-open spring 88 having a mounting leg 90 secured by a rivet 92 to the wall 66 and being formed with a detent portion 94 which projects out through an opening 96 on the wall 66. An abutment leg 98 of the holdopen spring normally seats against the inner surface of the link wall 66 to yieldably hold the detent portion 94 in the position shown in FIGURE 5. Cams 100 and 102 are mounted on the door and extend into the opening 30 on opposite sides of the check link 50 for engagement with the respective hold-open springs 78, 88 as shown in FIGURE 5.

In the operation of the device, when the door is closed as shown in FIGURE 2, the check link 50 is located in the hollow interior of the door. As the door swings open about the hinge pintle 24 the roller 77 on the check link approaches the inner surface of the sloping wall 34, the check link being urged outwardly (counterclockwise) by the spring 70. When the door reaches a partially open position, which preferably is slightly in excess of 90 from the closed position of FIGURE 2., the roller engages the inner edge of the sloping wall 34 at the side of the opening 30 to check further opening movement of the door. This is the position of the parts in FIGURE 4. Just prior to the time that the door reaches the position of FIGURE 4, the detent portions 84, 94 of the hold-open springs will engage the respective cam members 100, 102 and the hold-open springs will flex as the detent portions 84 and 94 are cammed over the cam members 100, 102 to reach the position shown in 'FIG- URES 4 and 5. In this position the detent springs 84 and 94 provide a yieldable hold-open so that the door will not close of its own weight but may be closed through force exerted to swing the door.

If it is desired to open the door to its fully open position, substantially 180 from the closed position, the door may be moved slightly toward closed position as shown in FIGURE 6 and the check link may be grasped and swung manually in a clockwise direction to the position shown in FIGURE 6 where the roller 77 will clear the wall 32. As clearly shown in FIGURE 6, the opening 30 is large enough to pass the end of the check link 50 including the hook 76 and the roller 77 so that the door may now be swlmg to its fully open position as illustrated in FIGURE 7, the hook moving out of the interior of the door through the opening 30' The spring 70 biases the check link in -a counterclockwise direction or outwardly of the truck body and the stop member 721) limits outward swinging movement of the check link so that it is held in such a position that when the door is swung closed the outer end of the link will engage and be guided by the sloping Wall 32 so that the hook automatically re-enters the door through the opening 30 as the door swings toward closed position.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it is oapble of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle having a body member, a door member, and means for mounting said door member on said body member for swinging movement between open and closed position, a door check of the character described, comprising: an elongated check link pivotally mounted on one of said members, said check link having a free end formed with a laterally extending projection having a roller mounted thereon, the other of said members having an opening defined on one side by a sloping wall leading toward the interior of said member, said projection entering the interior of said other member through said opening and the check link being of such length that the roller engages the inner edge of said sloping wall at the side of the opening to check the door in a partially open position, said opening being 'of sufiicient size to pass the projection and roller when the check link is manually swung away from said sloping wall to permit the projection to move out of the interior of said other memher through said opening, whereby said door may be swung to fully open position, the free end of said check link engaging said sloping wall and being guided thereby into said opening when the door is swung toward closed position.

2. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 1, wherein said door is swung through approximately from closed position to said partially open position.

3. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 1, wherein said door is swung through approximately 90 from closed position to said partially open position and is swung through approximately from closed position to said fully open position.

4. In a vehicle having a body member, a door member, and means for mounting said door member on said body member for swinging movement between open and closed positions, a door check of the character described, comprising an elongated check link pivotally mounted at one of its ends on one of said members, said check link having a free end formed as a hook, the other of said members having an opening defined on one side by a sloping wall forming a ramp leading toward the interior of the member, said hook entering the interior of said other member through said opening and the check link being of such length that the hook engages the inner edge of said sloping wall at the side of the opening to check the door in a partially open position, said opening being of suflicient size to pass the hook when the check link is manually swung away from said sloping Wall to permit the hook to move out of the interior of said other member through said opening, whereby said door may be swung to fully open position, the free end of said check link engaging the ramp formed by said sloping wall and being guided thereby into said opening when the door is swung toward closed position; spring means urging said check link toward engagement with said sloping wall; and stop means for limiting swinging movement of said check link in the direction of said sloping wall.

5. In a vehicle having a body member, a door member, and means for mounting said door member on said body member for swinging movement through approximately 180 between open and closed positions, door check and hold-open apparatus of the character described, comprising: an elongated check link pivotally mounted at one of its ends on one of said members, said check link having a free end formed as a hook and having a roller mounted on the end of the hook, the other of said members having an opening defined on one side by a sloping wall leading toward the interior of the member, said hook entering the interior of said other member through said opening and the check link being of such length that the roller engages the inner edge of said sloping wall at the side of the opening to check the door in a partially open position, said opening being of suflicient size to pass the hook when the check link is manually swung away from said sloping wall to permit the hook to move out of the interior of said other member through said opening, whereby said door may be swung to fully open position, the free end of said check link engaging said sloping wall and being guided thereby into said opening when the door is swung toward closed position; spring means urging said check link toward engagement with said sloping wall; stop means for limiting swinging movement of said check link in the direction of said sloping wall; and a pair of hold-open members comprising a spring secured on respective opposite sides of said check link, each spring having a detent portion and the springs being so located on the check link that the detent portion of each spring is cammed over an edge wall of said opening when the door approaches said partially open position.

. In a vehicle having a body member, a door member, and means for mounting said door member on said body member for swinging movement between open and closed positions, a door check of the character described, comprising: an elongated check link pivotally mounted on said body member, said check link having a free end formed with a laterally extending projection, said door having an opening defined on one side by a sloping wall forming a ramp leading toward the interior of said door, said projection entering the interior of said door through said opening and the check link being of such length that the projection engages the inner edge of said sloping wall at the side of the opening to check the door in a partially open position, said opening being of sufiicient size to pass the projection when the check link is manually swung away from said sloping wall to permit the projection to move out of the interior of said door through said opening, whereby said door may be swung to fully open position, the free end of said check link engaging the ramp formed by said sloping wall and being guided thereby into said opening when the door is swung toward closed position.

7. In a vehicle having a body member, a door member, and means for mounting said door member on said body member for swinging movement through approximately between open and closed positions, door check and hold-open apparatus of the character described, compris ing: an elongated check link pivotally mounted at one of its ends on said body member, said check link having a free end formed as a hook having a roller mounted on the end thereof, the door having an opening defined on one side by a sloping wall leading toward the interior of the door, said hook entering the interior of the door through said opening and the check link being of such length that the roller engages the inner edge of said sloping wall at the side of the opening to check the door in a partially open position, said opening being of sufficient size to pass the hook when the check link is manually swung away from said sloping wall to permit the hook to move out of the interior of said door through said opening, whereby said door may be swung to fully open position, the free end of said check link engaging said sloping wall and being guided thereby into said opening when the door is swung toward closed position; spring means urging said check link toward engagement with said sloping wall; stop means for limiting swinging movement of said check link in the direction of said sloping wall; and a pair of hold-open members comprising a spring secured on respective opposite sides of said check link, each spring having a detent portion and the springs being so located on the check link that the detent portion of each spring is cammed over an edge wall of said opening when the door approaches said partially open position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,209,886 Hill July 30, 1940 2,513,751 Semar July 4, 1950 2,779,059 Semar Ian. 29, 1957 2,841,430 Krause July 1, 1958 

